Fair Price on Judo Gis

Hello,

What's a fair price for a judo gi (single or double weave)? They seem so much more expensive than karate gis.

The fabrics cannot be compared. Karate gi are made from a basic cotton canvas any mill can make.
Judo gi fabric requires special fabric mills to produce the distinctive double and triple weave patterns, most gis using at least two different fabrics, and at least 90% of these mills are in Pakistan so no matter where the judo gi is made the fabric all has to be sourced from the same place.

You can find wide ranges in pricing for both Judo and Karate gis, based on quality of construction, materials, and brand-name.

If you check the various on-line auction sites, you can find a new Judo gi for $30 or even less.

But, following Janet's post, Judo gi are designed for a grappling art...they are grabbed, yanked, tugged, pulled, etc. Karate gi tend to be lighter in weight and not as sturdily constructed to allow for movements of a punching/kicking art.

October is the perfect time to scour secondhand stores for judo gi. The shops hang onto martial arts uniforms the rest of the year to sell them as Halloween costumes. Folks donate very lightly used uniforms, usually from abortive attempts at taking up a martial art.

I just scored a very nice judo gi top in my new (smaller!!) size for less than 5 bucks. I think I'll go on a Goodwill run today....

I have two very lightly used (never) very large bleached cotton size 5 gi that I just can't wear. Both have Aikido Shinruykan embroidered on the arm, and one has my name in kana, also embroidered on the arm. When I ordered the gi I had no idea that the sizing would be so big. They didn't shrink enough upon hot wash/hot machine-dry for me to use. If you're a biggish person (say - 6'2" or so) and solidly built, these might fit the bill. I'd take my embroidered name off before sending... PM me - I'll sell them both for what I paid for one of them... plus postage to a north-american address.

I'd suggest checking out the aikido gi's at http://www.ninecirclesusa.com/. I've been using one of their 450g Sashiko for about a year and it is still like new. The shorter sleeves make a much better fit for aikido than the judo gi's I've used.

Krystal, You found a Gi for $5 dollars!!??? THAT's wonderful! You are right about Halloween stuff at Goodwill!! Thanks for the suggestion!!! Have a wonderful Sunday.
Peace and Light, Marium